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the need to ensure a functioning single market and to foster its freedoms by enforcing its rules, while removing and preventing market barriers;

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that competition policy and industrial policy should reinforce each other to take better account of third countries’ strategic industrial policies. In this respect, the EESC welcomes the Commission’s updated report on state-induced distortions in China’s economy;

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that interconnectivity must be systematically developed in terms of accessing and transporting both material resources (electricity, oil, gas, waterways, roads, rail, etc.), and intangible resources (internet, data transfer, info-flows, networks, etc.);

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that the pandemic stimulated the development of a Health Union, while the energy crisis reminded us of the importance of the Energy Union with all its dimensions;

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the need to further integrate the financial, communications and energy markets, as they are key enablers of competitiveness;

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the need to complete the digital single market e.g. the creation of data spaces and the promotion of the exchange of data inside and between industrial ecosystems;

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the need to design and implement the ‘fifth freedom’, as suggested in the Letta report, to enhance research, innovation, and education in the single market;

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that the single market also needs a strong social pillar (e.g. the EPSR) as a contributor to competitiveness.

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intensify new discoveries and green, sustainable mining of key minerals, step up their basic processing, coupled with strongly increased productivity, and increase the efficiency of social dialogue and permitting procedures;

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scale up the implementation of the circular economy, with a special focus on recycling aimed at returning strategic and critical raw materials, including both advanced design engineering and special areas like ‘waste and water mining’;

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develop research into substitution, making use of advanced materials and alternative technologies, e.g. biotechnology and biomanufacturing. More efficient sourcing and use of materials are also of paramount importance;

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closely monitor the supply chains of critical raw materials, in order to guide the diversification of sourcing and supply chains, and with a view to risk mitigation and management. Sustainable sourcing and due diligence along the value chain should reduce the ecological footprint of mining and promote ethical practices and fair trade;

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seek agreements with third countries, via FTAs or sector-specific, more agile partnerships.

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reinforcing instruments that help de-risk strategic private investments and support the transformation of foundation industries, e.g. European public guarantees, a common European scheme for tax credits;

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strengthening the Innovation Fund and the NZIA by creating a common European safe asset;

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replacing national State aid schemes with European programmes (or at least coordinating them at European level) to avoid a subsidy race to the bottom;

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turning the incomplete Capital Markets Union into a Savings and Investments Union, as proposed in the Letta report as this is key for turning (dormant) European savings into productive investments;

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fostering public-private ecosystems and industrial collaboration by further developing industrial alliances, IPCEIs, Horizon Europe joint undertakings and industrial clusters. These networks of excellence in strategic industrial value chains are key for preserving European strategic autonomy and aligning the EU’s policy initiatives with the industrial strategies of European companies;

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making public procurement (14 % of GDP) a tool for developing strategic European industrial value chains. The focus on the lowest bid should make way for a more holistic approach where lifecycle cost, broader social, resilience and environmental criteria, and the creation of quality jobs are given equal consideration;

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creating lead markets for sustainable products;

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ensuring that public money serves the general interest by introducing social conditionalities and public control for companies receiving State aid.

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Ensuring the availability and affordability of low-carbon energy by:

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Increasing the financial attractiveness of decarbonisation for industry by:

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Setting up an IPCEI for the ‘low-CO2 emissions industry’.

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delivering on the targets of the 2030 Digital Decade policy programme (e.g. 90 % of SMEs reaching a basic level of digital intensity, at least 75 % of businesses taking up cloud computing services, big data or AI technologies);

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supporting substantial investments in secure and sustainable digital infrastructures: rolling out VHC networks and deploying a world-leading European supercomputing and quantum computing data infrastructure;

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investing in new digital technologies such as generative AI, quantum computing, digital twins, edge/cloud computing etc;

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improving digital sovereignty by creating industrial data spaces, open standards, testing and experimentation facilities and developing and scaling up innovative digital ecosystems;

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promoting digital solutions that support the transition towards a climate-neutral, circular and resource-efficient economy, e.g. the introduction of digital product passports for products such as batteries;

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investing massively in up-/re-skilling, both to increase basic digital skills within the workforce and to bridge the enormous gap between the demand for and supply of digital experts (while restoring the gender balance).

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building up skills intelligence and monitor the process of job/skills destruction and creation;

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establishing flexible pathways (e.g. dual learning systems) between the world of work and the world of education (which will always be lagging) and create a culture of lifelong learning, supported by the validation of acquired competences or by establishing individual learning accounts;

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creating strong sectoral skills partnerships between the social partners and all relevant stakeholders (e.g. by dramatically increasing the number of apprenticeships);

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promoting the EU Industry 5.0 ‘human-centric’ approach to increase the attractiveness of industrial jobs;

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turning companies into ‘learning organisations’ that make the most of the capabilities of workers;

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creating a European labour market: portability of workers’ rights, convergence of educational systems, recognition of competences, convergence of working conditions.

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introducing the 5th freedom of the single market to enhance research, innovation, and education across the EU for exploiting synergies and size-effect;

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using public R&D funding in a more integrated way to encourage private investment in order to quickly reach at least the targeted 3 % of GDP financing level;

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running careful cost/benefit impact assessments to optimise investments in the most added value-generating segments of the innovation value chains of ecosystems;

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managing and funding start-ups, scale-ups, pilots and industrialisation operations to retain talent, business and profits in the EU;

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implementing the New European Innovation Agenda, including the revised State Aid RDI Framework, the Listing Act, the Talent Pool and the Regional Innovation Valleys initiatives;

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leveraging the next Framework Programme (FP10) by increasing its budget to EUR 200bn (while taking a more pragmatic approach to dual-use innovation);

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dedicating special efforts to unleash the innovation potential of SMEs, e.g. by better integrating them in innovation networks.

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all policy and law making in the EU should be guided by the better regulation principles, including the proper implementation of the ‘one in, one out’ principle, the removal of excessive administrative burdens, and compliance with the proportionality principle;

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the Competitiveness Check must be deeply embedded in the EU’s decision-making processes;

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an Innovation Stress Test should be introduced as an essential part of the Better Regulation Toolbox;

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the targeted 25 % reduction in reporting requirements for MSMEs must be implemented;

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the use of delegated acts should be strictly targeted, as this type of regulation brings uncertainty to the business environment;

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permitting lead-times must be shortened by improved process design, increasing the capacity and efficiency of authorities;

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the important public consultation procedures should be accelerated where needed;

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the use of regulations rather than directives should be prioritised to achieve harmonisation across the EU;

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the implementation of the Better Regulation Agenda should comply with the European ‘social acquis’.